


From Betrayal Comes Joy

by RELYCH



Series: From Despair Comes Hope [2]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling
Genre: Albus Dumbledore Bashing, Angst and Feels, Angst with a Happy Ending, BAMF Lily Evans Potter, Blaise Zabini is a Good Friend, Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor Harry Potter, Dobby (Harry Potter) Lives, Draco Malfoy & Ron Weasley Friendship, F/M, Fluff and Angst, Happy Ending, Harry Potter & Ron Weasley Friendship, Headmaster Severus Snape, Healer Draco Malfoy, Hermione Granger & Harry Potter Friendship, Hermione Granger is a Good Friend, James Potter & Lily Evans Potter Live, M/M, Manipulative Albus Dumbledore, Memory Alteration, Memory Loss, Mind Manipulation, Pansy Parkinson is a Good Friend, Professor Harry Potter, Ron Weasley is a Good Friend, Severus Snape Lives, slight - Freeform
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-08-03
Updated: 2020-09-04
Packaged: 2021-03-06 06:46:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 8
Words: 10,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25679074
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RELYCH/pseuds/RELYCH
Summary: Harry Potter just finished his fifth year as the Defense Against the Dark Arts Professor at Hogwarts. He loves his job, he loves his friends, he loves his husband Draco, and he loves the baby that their friend is carrying for them so they can add to their family. Their life together is running smoothly, and Harry couldn't be happier.When Professor McGonagall goes on a sabbatical for a year, Harry is made the temporary Deputy Headmaster and helps find a replacement professor for the year. Amongst the applicants he discovers someone who should be dead, and learns the lie Dumbledore took to his grave. A year that should be marked by joy, will now be marked by betrayal, forgotten memories, and eventually the joy of family.Sequel, but you don't need to read the first story to understand.
Relationships: Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter, Hermione Granger/Ron Weasley, James Potter/Lily Evans Potter, Neville Longbottom/Blaise Zabini, Severus Snape/Original Female Character(s)
Series: From Despair Comes Hope [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1862005
Comments: 23
Kudos: 136





	1. Deputy Headmaster

**Author's Note:**

> This fic will have some slight language, and slight Albus Dumbledore bashing. It will be updated on Mondays and Wednesdays. Thanks for reading!

Harry Potter walked to the gates of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, and looked up at the castle. He had just finished his fifth year of teaching Defense Against the Dark Arts a week prior, and was still loving being a professor. He was confused, and slightly anxious, as to why Headmaster Snape wanted to have a meeting with him just one week after the term ended, but Harry knew Severus wouldn’t tell him until he was ready. Harry walked up to the Headmaster’s office and knocked; the door opened immediately revealing Severus sitting at his desk. 

Severus had changed since Harry first saw him, nearly thirteen years ago; for one his hair was no longer constantly greasy, his eyes calmer, and his teeth no longer yellow. Harry knew it was because Severus was trying to focus on his appearance more for his wife, Hillary; Severus and Hillary met when she worked as Dr. Mira Johnson’s receptionist, a Squib psychologist that Severus and Harry had both seen after the war. The couple had a three year old boy, who was fun to be around; after babysitting the kid, Marcus, a few times, Harry and Draco decided to start working on building a family. 

They had decided on using a surrogate mother for the first two, and then adopt at least one more; the first surrogate mother would be Lily Moon, an old friend of the couple and a pureblood. Neither Harry nor Draco much cared about the pureblood part, but Draco’s mother did so their first child would be a pureblood to avoid an argument. Hermione agreed to surrogate for the second kid, but she was busy settling into her career to do it within the next couple of years. Harry was relieved to have someone else tell them to wait, as he would probably want the next kid within a year and that would be a lot of work. 

Harry sat in a chair on the opposite side of the desk from Seveus and smiled at the man. “Hello, Sev. How are you?” Some days Harry could barely believe that he and Severus were on a first name basis, and other days it seemed weird. This man was the same age as his parents, which made him around forty-five; Harry realized how young his parents were when they had him after his own twentieth birthday, the age they were when they had him. Then he hit a rough patch after his twenty-first birthday, making him the same age they were when they died.

Severus tilted his head, then smiled softly. “Hillary is pregnant again, we just found out yesterday.” Harry beamed at the man. 

“Congratulations! Not to trample your news, but Lily Moon, she’s mine and Draco’s surrogate for the first go-around, is pregnant too. We just found out yesterday too.” Harry laughed lightly, he was ecstatic over the news. Severus’s smile widened fractionally, but Harry knew if the man showed emotion like a regular person he would be beaming. 

“Congratulations are in order to you as well then. However, that is not the reason I asked for this meeting.” Harry nodded and bit back his excitement; it left anxiousness in its place. Severus continued, “Minerva informed me that she would be taking a sabbatical this year, as will Madame Pomfrey. I know Madame Pomfrey is asking Draco to fill in her position for the year.” Harry nodded, she had asked Draco a few days ago; he was on the fence at the moment, but Harry knew he wanted to take it. “I need someone to fill in as the Head of Gryffindor House for the year, which I intended to ask you to do the day Minerva informed me of the sabbatical. However, now I am also going to extend the offer of filling in for the Deputy Headmaster position to you.”

Harry was stunned. He had not expected to be in the running for the Deputy position, since Severus was big on seniority and ensuring that Harry was treated like everyone else. He thought Severus would ask Filius or perhaps Pomona; Madame Pomfrey had told Draco about Minvera when she asked him to fill in. He must have looked surprised because Severus’ lips twitched. 

“Filius declined my offer. Pomona will be retiring in a couple of years, and is taking on Mr. Longbottom as her apprentice for the position so she was not able either. Any other professor would not be interested. Are you interested, Mr. Potter?” 

“Yes, sir. I am always up for extra responsibility.” Harry chuckled, and Severus rolled his eyes. 

“Very well.” Severus flicked his wand and a tall pile of parchment fell on his desk. “Take half of these,” the pile split in half, “and narrow it down to your top eight. Then telephone each of the top eight and have a short interview, and bring your top four back to me. I will do the same, and we will interview the remaining eight together.”

“What is this for?”

“Filling in Minerva’s position for the year; all of these people have expressed interest in being a temporary Transfiguration professor for the year. I expect your top four by this time next Monday. We will decide a time for a final interview together with the applicant.” Harry nodded, but he felt nervous. He had never been interviewed for a job before, and he did not know how to go about narrowing down this pile to eight people. Severus handed him a sheet with questions, and Harry relaxed; this would help him narrow down the applicants. 

“I will also need you to start inspecting the first year prospective students. First to see if any have alarming addresses, like yours, and secondly to distinguish the Muggleborn and Halfblood students who will need a professor to visit them. After that, please randomly assign the professors to go and explain the magical world to the student, add me to the list in the spot of Minvera, and contact the professors to sort out a schedule. All the students should be contacted before July 25th, so they have time to decide if they really want to attend Hogwarts. I would like a rough schedule by next Friday.”

Harry nodded more enthusiastically this time as he was on more familiar ground.”I would like you to keep your ear to the ground about a assistant caretaker as Mr. Filch is requesting help. We are also still accepting student applications for the exchange program in various countries but have a few already, and here is the list of our students who would like to sign up. Please start going through the applications to see who would be a good fit.” 

Harry grabbed the new stack and silently figured out how to avoid mixing up the applications. Severus nodded at him, and Harry knew he had been dismissed. If this was how much work he would be receiving on the first day, Harry was already starting to regret accepting the Deputy Headmaster position.


	2. The Applicant

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Harry starts to go through his pile of applicants.

Harry looked through the temporary Transfiguration applicants and had narrowed down the pile to around fourteen, which he thought was pretty decent compared to the pile of twenty rejects. He only had to cull another six, and then start calling the eight that made the cut. He put his forehead on his desk and cursed accepting the Deputy Headmaster job for approximately the fortieth time in the last three days. He heard a deep chuckle and looked up at his husband standing in the doorway. 

“Perfect Potter finally found something that he couldn’t breeze through,” Draco’s face was warm and Harry rolled his eyes at the teasing. 

“I would like to see you do better. This is a nightmare.” 

“That’s why I fear accepting the Hogwarts Healer position with Severus as the headmaster. He does not accept less than the best, and will never settle.” Draco crossed into the room and rubbed Harry’s tense shoulders. “Don’t forget that Teddy is coming over for a sleepover tomorrow, and Aunt Andromeda will probably drop him off in the morning.” Harry groaned; he had forgotten. “I’ll be at Mundo’s for the majority of the day, but I can bring dinner.” 

Harry dropped his forehead back onto the desk, his already huge amount of work would have one less day to be completed then. Damn. Draco chuckled again, and kissed the back of Harry’s neck. Harry heard him walk out of the room, and he sighed. He would cull six more people in the next hour, and then call four on his list that afternoon. It would be easy. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Two days later, after Teddy had been dropped at Andy’s around noon, Harry looked at his pile which consisted of ten applicants and growled. It should be easy to cull two, but all ten of them had already passed a multitude of tests. An hour later, Harry finally only had eight applicants. It was time to start calling, and that would be wonderful if it wasn’t two in the afternoon on a Friday. He would probably need to call some of these people tomorrow, and he sincerely hoped they wouldn’t be upset over receiving a call on a Saturday. 

He let out a breath of relief over seeing that two of them had already requested to be contacted over the weekend due to other job constraints. He just picked two more at random and decided they would be the ones to call over the weekend if needed. He picked up his telephone, the first applicant requested a phone call instead of floo, and made the call. Over two hours later, the man never let up, Harry firmly moved the file to his reject pile; he doubted the man would be able to let the students out of class on time, and that would never do. He made two more calls, each a more reasonable amount of time, and put the two applicants into a new next round pile.He looked at the time and picked up the next file; it was a wizard living in the United States named James Waller. Harry called the man over the telephone, again the man’s request, and waited while the phone rang. 

“‘Ello?” 

“Hello, is this James Waller?”

“Yes, speaking. Who is this?”

“My name is Harry Potter, and I’m the Deputy Headmaster of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. I’m calling about your application for the temporary Transfiguration Professor position. Is this a good time?”

“Oh, brilliant! Yes this is a good time. Just give me a second to move to a quieter area.” Harry squinted at the phone. How did the man have a English accent instead of an American one? And why did he sound vaguely familiar? “Sorry about that. You said your name was Harry Potter?”

“Yes. Forgive me, but why do you have an English accent?” The man laughed and a face was starting to form around the edges of Harry’s memory.

“Ah, yes, it’s a long story. I grew up in the UK, but I moved here to the States over twenty years ago with my wife Lily. I don’t remember exactly why, but we fled the UK during the Wizarding World. It wasn’t until around seven years ago that we started to really remember the UK. Well we remembered our childhoods, but they were all fuzzy and hard to focus on. It wasn’t until seven years ago that it started to become clearer.”

The man continued talking, but Harry was no longer paying attention. His gut was full of ice, and his head was swimming. The only thought racing through his mind was, _It can’t be possible_. The face swimming around the edges of his mind had sharpened and it was the face of his dead father. James Potter had died when Harry was one, which would be twenty-three years ago on Halloween. Harry vaguely realized that James had stopped talking, and he made a noise to signify that he had heard the story. He went through the list of questions automatically, but he didn’t take note of James’s answers. When the phone call was done, he poured a generous helping of Brandy and drank, staring at the wall.

Harry sat in silence and drank for hours, but he barely noticed the time passing. Draco had popped his head in to check on Harry, but left when he saw the state his husband was in. Well after the house clock struck midnight, Harry decided that his mind was playing tricks on him and would put James’s file in the moving forward pile. It was unfair to cut James out of the running because of Harry’s minor freak-out. Absentmindedly cleaning the glass, Harry looked at the file and wished that they came with photos. It was impossible for his father to be alive, but a picture would help him dismiss the idea completely. 

He slipped into the bed by Draco, who rolled over and brushed his bangs away from his face. Harry grabbed his husband’s hand and thought of telling him about the phone call. Draco had seen Harry at his lowest, and always wanted to help him before another plummet. Harry kissed his husband’s hand, and let it fall. There was no reason to bother Draco with this, as it was unlikely to cause further issues.


	3. Dumbledore's Confession

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Dumbledore reveals the secret he should have never needed to reveal, and makes everyone angry.

Harry walked into Severus’s office Monday after sleeping a total of six hours since Friday. He kept telling himself that his thoughts on James Waller were obviously not accurate, but that wasn’t helping him sleep. Draco had offered to give him a dose of Dreamless Sleep yesterday, but Harry refused; he had nearly gotten addicted to the potion a few years ago when he had been at a low point and he didn’t want to chance it. He placed the four files on Severus’s desk and sat heavily in a chair. 

“Here are my four picks; look over them closely and then we will begin setting up interviews.” 

Harry started reading the files, and saw that all of the CV’s were very impressive. Was Severus just better at finding the impressive witches and wizards, or did he have the better pile to begin with? Harry decided it was probably the latter, and read each applicant’s file three times. 

“If this James Waller is telling the truth, then he would be the most qualified. However, why would someone from the States want to teach for one year here?”

“He grew up here, apparently. He fled to the States during the First Wizarding War with his wife, Lily.” Severus looked up sharply.

“That is a extraordinary coincidence. Did he tell you why he fled, or why he has just now decided to come back?”

“He couldn’t remember why he left. Apparently his childhood and time at Hogwarts was fuzzy, but it started clearing up seven years ago.” Harry looked grim, and saw that Severus’s eyes widened. 

“That is truly an extraordinary story.” 

Harry would have felt better about it being just a coincidence if Dumbledore’s painting hadn’t stopped pretending to sleep as Harry was talking. Harry had done the easy math, Dumbledore died a little over seven years ago. Harry had kept telling himself it was impossible, but his mind had started piecing together how it could be possible. Dumbledore’s brother, Aberforth, had told Harry once that Dumbledore had grown up and lived constantly juggling secrets and lies. What if this was just one more secret and lie?

Harry forced himself to stop his mind from going there, and nodded to Severus. Severus had put James Waller’s file to the side; James would be the last one they called due to the time difference between the States and the UK. They called all the other applicants and scheduled an interview for four of them, three took their names out of the running for various reasons. When it was time to call James Waller, Severus and Harry looked at each other; all Harry could think was this was the moment of truth. Would Severus recognize the voice?

“Hello?” Harry took the lead as he had for the other three applicants he had selected.

“Hello, Mr. Waller? It’s Harry Potter again, with the Headmaster of Hogwarts.”

“Ah, yes, hello. How are you, Mr. Potter?”

“I’m doing well. And yourself, Mr. Waller?” Severus’s face had paled, and Harry knew his suspicions were correct. He was speaking to his supposedly dead father, James Potter.

“Excellent. Sorry, but I didn’t catch the Headmaster’s name?” Severus cleared his throat. 

“Headmaster Severus Snape, Mr. Waller. It’s a pleasure.” 

“Severus Snape? Blimey, that name sounds familiar. I think I remember going to school with you, and being a bit of a prat. Sorry about that. I wish I could remember why I was awful to you so I can properly apologize. I swear that’s the truth, and I’m not just saying it because I’m after the temporary professor job.” 

James chuckled, and Severus looked at Dumbledore’s portrait. The former headmaster looked sorrowful, and Harry felt his anger start to rise. 

“Yes, well, it was a long time ago.” Harry looked over at Severus, shocked; where was this stance when Harry was being blamed for his father’s attitude in school. Severus narrowed his eyes at Harry, and motioned with his hand to keep Harry quiet. “I was not exactly kind to you and the rest of your gang either.”

“The rest of my gang? I can’t remember anyone else.” 

“Indeed? How strange. How did you hear about the job?”

“Ah, my wife Lily; do you remember her? Anyways, she works for the Magical Congress of the United States of America, and her friend, who had just come back from London, had seen the posting in Diagon Alley somewhere. I teach here in Ilvermorny, but had already planned to take a year off; Lily is working for the Ministry of Magic in an exchange program this year. It was too great of a coincidence, honestly.” 

James chuckled again, and Severus hummed. Harry realized that he was subtly probing to see how much James remembered of his past. 

“Lily was always very talented.”

“Yes, she was. Thinking about it, it seems to me that you two talked a little bit in school, but it’s really fuzzy; sometimes I get a headache when I try to remember too much, but I try to remember as much as possible.” 

Severus nodded. “Yes, well, I would stop trying to remember too much then. Lily and I grew up near each other, and were friends before Hogwarts.” James hummed. “We were calling to ask you if you would like to do an official interview here at Hogwarts for the position. We have a few other candidates, but we would like to sit down with you for a little bit longer.”

“Excellent. I am available, and would love to.”

Severus, James, and Harry negotiated a date and time until they were able to reach something that worked for all three of them. When they hung up, Severus and Harry looked at each other; both were white and visibly shocked. Then they both turned to the portrait of Albus Dumbledore, who was still wearing the sorrowful expression. Severus whispered very lowly, “Explain Albus.” 

Dumbledore looked down and sighed, “I developed a charm that would protect an individual from the killing curse, while imitating the effects of the curse. I cast the charm on James and Lily as well as Frank and Alice Longbottom when we learnt that Voldemort was going after either Neville or Harry. The night of the attack, the charm worked, and I was excited to share the charm with the Wizarding World. However, Death visited me that night, and warned me against sharing the charm with the World. Death was not happy that I found a way to stop death; I was punished by the Resurrection Stone being cursed, so that when I found it, the stone would not work for me.”

Dumbledore looked off to the distance, and had an angry look on his face. He schooled it back into the mournful expression, and continued his story. 

“I needed to cover my tracks since a few people already believed James and Lily to be dead. So I cast a potent memory charm on James and Lily, set them up with a flat and money in the United States, and placed more charms to keep them from wanting to come back here. The charms were never supposed to fail, even with my death, so I don’t understand why the charms are failing now.”

“Why did I go to the Durselys instead of with my parents?”

Dumbledore looked ashamed. “I placed you with the Durlseys, Harry, because I believed Voldemort would come back and you needed to stay here in the United Kingdom. Lily did not know about the killing curse protection, I did not tell any of them in case it did not work, which made your blood still carry her sacrifice as she believed she would die. The blood wards would only work to protect the home of a member of your family, and I did want you growing up with the fame of being the boy-who-lived.” 

Harry was furious, and sick by the betrayal. He wanted to yell, break things, and cry. He knew that wouldn’t help right now, and he still had unanswered questions. 

“How did I see my parents then during the _Priori Incantatem_ in Little Hangleton, and when I held the Resurrection Stone in the forest?”

“The _Priori Incantatem_ shows an echo from the wand's last spells, and Voldemort did cast the killing curse at your parents. It wasn’t ghosts coming from the wand; they were merely echoes retaining the appearance and character of the victim of the spell. The Resurrection Stone appearance was made by a charm of my own invention. When I finally had the stone, but was not able to use it, I created a charm that would seemingly allow me to talk to the people I had lost, though they were also just echoes with the appearance and character of the loved ones.” 

“How can we break your charms?” Severus asked. 

“You shouldn’t be able to; it would most likely cause their minds to collapse in on themselves to try.” Severus cursed. He was pacing around his office, and seemed to be trying to work out the problem. 

“So them starting to remember vague details, prompting them to try and force their memories to return, is extremely dangerous?”

Dumbledore nodded. “Yes.” Severus cursed, and spun around. 

“You old fool! How did you think this would ever be a good idea? You saved their lives, only to ensure their deaths by your hand! Go to another painting, or I will remove this one from Hogwarts!” 

Dumbledore looked at Harry with sorrow and left. Harry looked at Severus who was exuding anger, and wondered how to calm him down. It seemed like Severus had learnt some anger management techniques, though, and was visibly calming down in front of him. 

“Why were you so easy to forgive my father?” Harry blurted out the question without thinking about it. 

Severus rolled his eyes, “Dr. Johnson told me the only way to heal was to forgive the Marauders as holding onto the grudge was only hurting me. I have not truly forgiven your father though, but he obviously doesn’t remember his school days. I made a mistake taking out my anger on you for something you couldn’t have known about; I won't make the mistake again. I will be angry at him as soon as he remembers with no hesitation.” 

Harry rolled his eyes; at least Severus was being sort of fair with his anger these days.


	4. The Interview

Harry drank deeply from his glass, and Draco raised his eyebrow at his husband. Harry had not told Draco about his parents yet, and it was weighing on him. He kept making excuses to himself, but none of them truly made sense. It had been over a week, and James’s next interview was in four days. Harry suddenly realized that Draco could help with potentially breaking the charm if his parents wanted that. 

“Draco, darling, I haven’t been keeping secrets from you, but -”

“Yes, you have, but I’ve been letting you. I wished you would have trusted me sooner, though.”

Harry blushed. Of course Draco had noticed, Harry didn’t know why he had expected anything different. It was a bit humiliating how open of a book Harry was. 

“Ah, well sorry about that. It’s not that I didn’t trust you, I just couldn’t process it; still can't, if I’m honest.”

“Well I can help you with that, Harry. You know that I’m here to help you process anything.” 

“Yes, I do know,” Harry sighed deeply. “Well you know how Severus had me go through some of the CV’s for the temporary professor position? One of them was a man from the United States named James Waller. When I interviewed him, I had the wild suspicion that he was my father. I convinced myself I was wrong, but then Severus and I called him. I wasn’t wrong. Dumbledore found a way to protect a person from the killing curse. He used the charm on my parents and then hid them in the United States all these years.”

Draco looked shocked and swallowed deeply. Then his face turned murderous.

“I never trusted that old coot! How could he do this?” 

“His story is that Death was pissed about being robbed of a soul, and warned him to never reveal his charm that stopped the killing curse. He then told us that he had to hide my parents so his charm would never be suspected. He also said that he had to leave me here because I was the ‘Chosen One’.” 

“Bollocks.” 

Harry agreed, and he continued his story.

“For the deception to work, Dumbledore needed to put memory charms on them. He said they shouldn’t be failing, and if my parents continued regaining their memories the way they are currently remembering them, it could cause their minds to collapse. I’m assuming something like Lockhart’s curse from second year.”

“I believe he intended for you and Weasley to lose your memories that drastically, but possibly. I could take a look at the charms with Professor Flitwick, Hermione, and Severus. Your mother was gifted in Charms as well, yes?”

“It’s what I have heard.”

“She can look at them too. I’m sure between the five of us we can find a way to unravel Dumbledore’s charms.”

“If they want to unravel them.”

Draco looked up at that; he had been lost in his mind trying to think of a solution Harry was sure. 

“It would be dangerous, and the risks could outweigh finding a cure. Oh Harry, I’m so sorry. How are you handling this?”

“What’s one more blow to my life by Dumbledore? It has been six years since he sent me to die in the Forbidden Forest by Voldemort’s hand, so I guess it was time for him to deliver another devastating blow.” 

Draco winced. They ate in silence until Lily came home, and they quickly tried to cover the somber mood. She was smarter than that, though, but she didn’t ask what was going on. Harry knew no matter what happened concerning his parents, he would always have this family made up of his spouse and friends. He would never be alone with just the Dursleys again. 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry watched the entrance of Three Broomsticks, and tried to tune out Severus’s fingers tapping on the table. Finally he looked over at the brooding man, and Severus raised his eyebrow. Harry rolled his eyes at the both of them. If this was how they were going to act, then James would not want the job. 

“If he’s even a minute late, I am taking his name out of the running.”

“Only two of our other applicants are willing to work for a job that will only be for a year, Severus. You hated both of them.”

“I will only accept the best for Hogwarts.”

Harry wanted to roll his eyes, but Severus would be very cross with him if he did. He went back to silently watching the door. Three minutes before the interview was scheduled to start, James walked in. Severus’s breath hissed through his teeth, and Harry felt his heart drop. He looked like an older version of Harry, except he had different eyes. 

James looked around, but didn’t recognize either of them. Harry stood up and walked over to the man. His hands were sweaty, and he nearly stumbled. 

“Mr. Waller?”

James looked over and smiled brightly. 

“Mr. Potter, I presume?”

“Yes, it’s a pleasure to meet you. Severus and I are over here.”

“Excellent; lead the way.”

Harry felt his heart break, and knew he was being ridiculous. He then pushed his feelings out of the way, and noticed that every wizard in the pub had turned their attention towards them. Harry barely bit back a curse. This was sure not to end well. 

“Mr. Waller.”

James heartily shook Severus’s hand. 

“Severus. It’s good to see you again. It’s been so long that I have forgotten your face. Lily wanted to ask you around for dinner tomorrow night. We found a flat for her in London, but we were hoping for some recommendations for a spot to eat at in London. Mr. Potter, you are more than welcome to come too.” 

Severus cleared his throat and Harry knew he was fighting to keep his face emotionless. So Harry took over to give the man time.

“Harry, if you please. Inviting us to dinner won’t help your chances, Mr. Waller.” 

James and Harry laughed, and James clapped Harry on the shoulder. 

“Well, call me James then, and that wasn’t the purpose. We don’t know the UK anymore, and was hoping to call on the assistance of someone who did.” 

“Of course, Mr. Waller. I will need to consult my wife, and I have a three year old who will be upset to be left out. Thank you for the invitation, though. Shall we get started?”

James sat down, and the interview began. James was obviously the best choice; he was only in the UK for one year, he was very talented in Transfiguration, and had teaching experience in the United States. He would add new culture to Hogwarts, and a way for Severus to bring up his exchange program’s attendance. James left, and Severus cursed as soon as the man walked out of the pub. Harry looked over startled. 

“Why am I cursed? First you were the obvious choice for the Defense Against the Dark Arts professor position, and now James Potter is the obvious choice for the Transfiguration professor position. That damn snake should have killed me,” Severus seethed. 

“Severus, you have a wonderful life now, and you wouldn’t have your family if the damn snake killed you. Besides he might not take the position when we tell him about the charms, which I think a dinner tomorrow would be the perfect opportunity to do so.” 

Severus sneered at him and said, “James Potter spent his entire time at Hogwarts making my life miserable. Do you really think that he has changed?”

Harry rolled his eyes and left. Lily was having her first healer’s appointment today, and he was going to be damned if he missed it. In the last few days he had vowed to devote his time into his family he had now, not the one that was taken from him. Now if only he did not need to up his appointments with Dr. Mira Johnson, his psychiatrist that was thankfully also a squib, to deal with this situation.


	5. Family Dinner

“Does it count as a family dinner if your family doesn’t know they are your family?”

“Harry quit torturing yourself. Honestly, it’s just dinner.”

“Says you, Hermione. You haven’t had to face your memory modified parents.”

Harry blushed at Hermione’s look. Right, she had faced her memory modified parents after she had erased their memories for their protection. 

“Sorry, Hermione. I’m nervous.”

“That’s obvious. It will be worse for them to learn what happened. Are you or Snape telling them about it?”

“Severus. We didn’t think it would go over well if I told them.”

She nodded, and Harry was so thankful that she had agreed to help with their memories. Only if his parents chose to try and bring them back. 

“What’s the talk around the Ministry?”

Hermione hesitated, but said, “No one really understands how a man that looks just like James Potter showed up at the Three Broomsticks. They’re even more confused as to why Severus was the one talking to him; their rivalry was more notorious than I expected. At least the Daily Prophet didn’t put it on the front page; Ginny suddenly leaving the Harpies to write for the sports section was more newsworthy.”

Harry nodded, glad that he had thought to put a glamour on himself that altered his features just enough to not be the exact replica of James, and thus unrecognizable at first glance; he couldn’t imagine what the talk would have been if anyone had realized it was him talking to James too. It was lucky that such a dramatic piece of news happened the same day as well, and he would need to take Ginny out for drinks to thank her, even if she didn’t know why he wanted to thank her. He and Ginny were now on speaking terms, thank goodness, but it was still slightly touchy to be around her; maybe he should take Ron as well. Hermione smiled at him reassuringly when he asked her for her opinion on the idea, and Harry decided to start setting it up tomorrow. 

Taking one last look at himself, he apparated to St. Mungo’s to collect Draco; when he and Severus had accepted the dinner invitation, Harry asked if he could bring Draco along as well. He walked up to the office Draco shared with two other healers, and was surprised to see his husband choosing a tie. 

“Did they let you off early then?”

Draco looked back at Harry and said, “Surprisingly slow day, so I am able to take off when I planned to. Next week will be my last week here for nearly a year, so they’re having some other healers stay later and taking the more difficult cases that require extra supervision.” 

“How does that make you feel?”

Draco shrugged in response, and Harry understood what Draco was unable to say. Draco was slightly hurt to be treated as if he was already gone, but he was also thankful to not need to worry about leaving a delicate case in the hands of another healer when he did leave. Harry wrapped his arms around his husband’s waist and placed his head on his husband’s shoulder. Draco sighed heavily and then patted Harry’s hand; Harry let go and waited while Draco finished picking his tie and cufflinks. 

“I’ve been to Gringotts.”

Draco arched his eyebrow, “Why?”

“To go over my accounts, and try to find out how much Dumbledore gave to James.”

Draco walked over to Harry and grabbed his hand. They walked out of the hospital and down the street. The restaurant they were eating at was a twenty minute walk from St. Mungo’s, so Draco and Harry were just going to walk there. Draco had forced Harry to learn quite a few charms to freshen up hair, clothes, and shoes when they left Hogwarts, so Harry often chose to walk to clear his mind and used the charms often. 

“What did you learn?”

“That I have about half of the original fortune, so I don’t feel as bad about it. I still need to find a way to give them back their money though.”

“Why? If they choose not to learn their past, then the money is rightfully yours,” Draco pointed out, probably thinking he was helping. 

“It’s not rightfully mine. They’re alive.”

“If they choose not to remember, then James and Lily Waller are alive. James and Lily Potter stay dead.”

Harry looked over at Draco, and thought that they wouldn’t agree on this point. He did understand where Draco was coming from, but he couldn’t believe that was the right decision. What if the Waller’s had children? Harry shook that thought away; it was too painful to imagine potential siblings that were raised by his parents. 

They walked the rest of the way in silence, but it wasn’t because they were angry at each other. They both had too much on their minds, and it wouldn’t help the other to talk about them. When they reached the restaurant entrance, Harry smiled at Hillary and Severus. Hillary greeted them brightly, and Severus inclined his head in their direction; Harry’s slightly off mood instantly dissolved when Marcus shouted in delight at the sight of them. Harry grabbed Marcus with a laugh when the boy all but threw himself towards him. 

“Hillary, Severus, Marcus,” he greeted. “You all seem excited.” 

Severus sneered, Hillary laughed, and Marcus started chattering excitedly about everything he saw on the way here. Hillary was a Muggle, so they rode the bus to get to the restaurant apparently. Marcus was in the middle of telling Harry all about a random lady’s hat when the Waller’s approached. Harry knew the fact he was holding Marcus was the only reason his knees didn’t give out when he saw his mother, and he saw Severus pale at the sight of her. 

Harry was so focused on his mother, that he didn’t see the three children following behind his parents at first. When he did look at them, he saw that they were two teenagers and a preteen; the oldest was a girl who was the exact image of his mother, the middle child was a boy with dark red hair like Lily and James’s facial features, and the youngest was another girl who looked just like James. Harry tried to swallow, but his mouth was dry. 

“Hello there,” James greeted cheerfully, seemingly unaware of Harry and Severus’s reactions.

“Hello, you must be Mr. Waller. I’m Draco Malfoy,” Draco cut in to save Harry and Severus. 

James grinned and shook Draco’s offered hand, “James, please; nice to meet you. This is my wife Lily, my oldest daughter Alice who just turned 17, my son Sirius who is 14, and my youngest daughter Minerva who is 11.” 

James pointed at each child in turn, and the group introduced themselves to everyone. The entire time Harry’s mind was racing. The group finally headed into the restaurant, but Severus and Harry hung back. They turned to each other, and both had a grimace on their face. 

“How’s it possible, Severus? Dumbledore’s charms couldn’t have been failing that long ago.”

“I do not know, but I think the situation is more dire than previously expected.”


	6. The Charms

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not posting on Monday. Life has been very hectic here lately, and doesn't seem to be clearing up anytime soon. Thanks for reading!

Harry wanted to enjoy his dinner, but it felt like paste in his mouth. His parents were eating with him, and so were his brother and sisters. It would have been a dream come true, if he wasn’t nearly twenty-four and if his parents actually knew who he was. Severus seemed very uncomfortable as well, which did not bode well for the after dinner conversation. Harry wondered how they were going to tell James and Lily without the kids present. 

The opportunity presented itself at the end of dinner when Lily said, “Severus, you told James that we were friends, but I don’t remember that at all.”

Severus cleared his throat and said, “I actually have some information concerning that, but I believe it would be best said in private.” 

James and Lily looked at each other and then nodded. Severus stood up with Lily, James, and Harry following suit. They walked outside, and James pulled out a smoke. Lily softly admonished him when he lit the cigarette, so James put it out with a shrug and a grin. Severus stared at the interaction with an odd expression before clearing his throat. 

“The Wizarding World believes you to be dead. Your supposed murders were actually quite famous, which makes you being here extremely shocking. I cannot go into too many details, but you truly should be dead. An individual needed to hide you because Death was not happy. To keep the rest of the Wizarding World from learning a secret with deadly consequences, your memories were modified and charms were placed on you to keep you from ever coming back. The fact those charms are being to fail is very alarming as this should not be possible. There is a high probability that if you were to remember more of your past with the charms in place, your minds will collapse.”

James looked at Severus like he had lost his own mind, but Lily nodded. They excused themselves to talk privately. While they were doing that, Harry looked at Severus. 

“I think they are going to take it well.”

Severus arched his eyebrow, “Indeed. Lily was always an intelligent individual.” 

Harry nodded, and the two were silent once more. After what seemed to be an intense conversation, Lily and James came back over. James still looked shocked, but seemed to accept the information. 

Lily asked, “Do you know how to break the charms?”

“No, but my husband, best friend, the Charms professor at Hogwarts, and Severus have all agreed to look at the charms to see. We have heard that you are very talented with charms yourself, and were hoping that you would assist. Only if you two want to try and break them.”

“I want to look at them first before deciding. If there is no way to safely break the charms, then they stay put.”

“Of course, Lily. Also, if you want the temporary Transfiguration position, it’s yours Mr. Waller.” 

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Harry tried not to let his anxiousness show, but knew he had failed when Draco put his hand on Harry’s leg. Filius was talking with Hermione, Severus was pacing in front of his desk, and Harry just wanted his parents to have already been there. Finally the floo roared to life and his parents stepped into the headmaster’s office. Harry desperately tried to erase the telling ticks of his nervousness. 

James and Lily greeted the room, and Harry smiled shakily at them. Harry’s attention was directed away from them when he heard a squeak and crash; looking over he saw that Filius had fallen out of his chair. Severus had told the Charms professor nearly every detail, but the shock of seeing two “dead” people was apparently too great for the wizard. Hermione helped him up, and Severus arched his eyebrow at the display. 

“I take it you know of us, then?”

Filius looked at James and nodded. James introduced himself to Filius anyways with Lily following suit, and then turned to Hermione. He introduced himself again while heartily shaking Hermoine’s hand. Lily seemed pleased to introduce herself to Hermione. The older couple seemed pleased to meet a talented witch who was also a Muggle-born.

“Shall we begin?”

Harry couldn’t help but appreciate that Severus rarely wasted time. James took a seat in the middle of the room, and the rest of the group surrounded him. 

“We will begin by scanning you for the charms. Are you ready?”

James nodded, and Severus waved his wand over James’s head. A long list and intricate web projected into the air and Lily cursed. Harry did not know what most of the spells were, but Filius and Lily seemed to as they both paled. Hermione also seemed taken aback. 

“Why would anyone place such dangerous and volatile charms on a living individual?”

“To keep a dangerous secret, Mrs. Waller. I am not agreeing with the actions, but that is the reason,” Severus said quickly when Lily spun to face him. 

“We need to remove the majority of these charms, or our minds will go no matter what. Damn.”

“Indeed,” Filius squeaked. “We shall find a way to keep you both safe, though. Between all of us, Dumbledore’s charms stand no chance.”

Suddenly the web shook violently, and James winced. Draco stepped forward and waved his wand, muttering a spell that Harry couldn’t hear. He seemed very concerned at the light emitting from his wand, and looked at Severus. 

“What did you do, Waller?” Severus asked harshly.

“Nothing! That name just seemed familiar.”

Draco and Severus shared a look, before Severus stalked away. Draco cleared his throat and turned to Lily who seemed to be losing her patience at being left out of the loop. 

“We will unfortunately need to remove the charms more quickly than expected, Mrs. Waller. The deterioration has progressed more rapidly than what should be possible.”

Lily nodded and took out her wand, “What should we do to start removing these charms?”


	7. Harry's Family

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Everyone thank you for the comments, and love. I've been a bit overwhelmed these last couple of weeks, but I swear I've been reading them. I'll respond when I get the chance. Thanks for reading!

“Has James accepted the position yet?”

Severus looked over at Harry and glared.

“No he has not. It is very inconsiderate as the new school term starts in less than two weeks. I would not be able to find an adequate hire if he was to turn down the position at this point.”

Harry nodded, half of him hoped that his parents did not accept the position while half hoped they did. Even if they did not know Harry was their son, he would still have an opportunity to get to know his parents. He and Draco had talked about it quite a bit over the last few weeks. Draco was of the belief that he should not think of them as his parents as he thought it would only hurt him more as he learnt more about them and would eventually realize that he would never be truly a part of their family. 

Draco was most likely right. 

Harry’s head acknowledging that didn’t make it easier to force his heart to do the same. Harry sighed over the situation, and Severus arched his eyebrow at him. Harry blushed, muttered some excuse, and went back to his paperwork. 

They continued on with the paperwork for another couple of hours, before the floo roared to life. Draco stepped out of the fire, and grinned brightly. 

“I figured out the first strand that could begin unraveling the complicated spellwork. I want to ask the old coot though, before telling the Waller’s about it.”

Draco had refused to call Dumbledore by any other name, and called James and Lily the Waller’s to make a habit of it. Dumbledore looked out of his portrait sadly, and nodded. Draco walked over and projected the image of James’s charms. He pointed to a random one on the right that was overlapping a couple other strands, and Harry wondered why that exact strand. 

“If we start with that one, will it begin unraveling your charms?”

“They were not made to unravel, Mr. Malfoy. However, that one would be the safest one to start with. You will need to move quickly, though, as this one,” he pointed at one in the middle, “seems to be the most frayed.”

“I saw that, and if we start with this one, we should be able to remove the frayed one within four sessions. How long should we wait between sessions?”

“Until the mind is properly adjusted. If you rush it, then the mind will begin producing vicious defenses that will only harm the Potter’s.”

Severus had moved over towards Draco and Dumbledore’s portrait. He looked at the one Draco was pointing at and nodded, seemingly pleased that the puzzle was starting to come together. He walked over to the floo and called out James’s name; it wasn’t long after before a head appeared in the fire. 

“Severus, I was just about to call you. Lily and I have decided that it won’t be anymore dangerous for me to teach than it would be for her to work at the Ministry. Which leaves the pesky detail of my children’s schooling.”

“That is good news as I would not have found a suitable replacement for Minerva in the short amount of time you would have given me if you had declined.”

James looked embarrassed, “Yeah…”

Severus looked pleased to have embarrassed James.

“That is not why I called however. We believe that we have found the first charm to break.”

James perked up, “Really? That’s smashing! Lily is right in the other room, so I’ll bring her through?”

Severus nodded, “I’ll call Filius into the room. We will be missing Miss Granger, but she will be able to catch up. Also, your children can utilize the exchange program I have set up; I will expect them to recommend the experience to their friends if they enjoy it here.”

“Brilliant! Everything’s coming together.”

It was indeed, but Harry was not entirely sure how to feel about it.

\---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

“Then the bugger flew up Hutchinson’s nose!”

The table broke out into laughter at the conclusion of Blaise’s story, but Harry had to force his laughter. It had been difficult seeing his parents, and now knowing that he would be seeing quite a bit of them throughout the term. It was downright torturous to know that he would be teaching his siblings this term, while they would never know of him as anything other than their professor. 

However, Harry needed to keep his chin up as none of his friends, except Draco and Hermione, knew about his parents being alive. He kept the mantra of this being his family going through his mind over and over, so he could try and keep a sunny outlook. He believed that he was succeeding and his friends were none the wiser. 

“Alright, this has gone on long enough! What’s going on Harry?”

Damn.

Lily Moon was staring at him with a concerned look on her face, and a hand unconsciously resting on her stomach. The stomach that was housing his child because Lily agreed to be a surrogate for him and Draco. She deserved the truth, and so did everyone else at this table. They had been there for him so often throughout the years, and, after all, they were his family. 

“My parents are alive, and they have so many memory charms placed on them that they will probably never know that I am their son.” 

The group was so shocked that Ron quit eating, which was a feat that Harry did not believe he had ever seen accomplished. He would have taken pride in it, if the news wasn’t so personally devastating. 

“Fuck. How?” Blaise asked, with murder in his eyes. 

“Dumbledore,” Draco provided.

“Bastard! Why would he do something like this?”

Harry appreciated Pansy’s fury, and was slightly relieved that Dumbledore was no longer with the living as he would be brutally hexed if he was still alive. Then Harry decided that Dumbledore would have deserved any hexes Pansy cast at him. 

“Death was pissed that Dumbledore stole souls from them, and Dumbledore needed to cover his tracks,” Hermione still did not completely hate Dumbledore and thought that his actions were slightly justified. “However, the reasons for leaving Harry with the Dursleys are complete horseshite,” even Hermione had her limits on respecting authority, though. 

“He’s lucky that he’s dead, or I would kill him.”

“Being pregnant makes you vicious, Lily. I like it,” Blaise grinned at her and winked. 

Neville narrowed his eyes at his boyfriend before looking at Harry with compassion, “Harry, how are you handling this?”

“I could be better, but I could be worse. It’s upsetting.”

“Out of all of the things he’s done to you, this has gotta be the worst, mate.”

Harry nodded at Ron, and revealed the last bit of information, “James is going to be taking over for McGonagall this year. His other kids are going to attend Hogwarts for the year, as well.”

The group’s outraged looks turned to one of pity, which put Harry on edge. He hated being pitied, and he barely avoided getting angry at them. 

“It’s rubbish, but I’ll make it through.”

“You always do, Harry, but I wish you didn’t always need to.”

The rest of the group nodded at Draco’s words, and fell silent. A few minutes later, Draco broke the uncomfortable silence with his own story from work. The heaviness lingered over the conversation, though, and Harry decided to drink just enough to forget about his problems for the night.


	8. Train Rides and Sorting

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The journey to Hogwarts and sorting.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello everyone, thank you guys so much for your patience with my sporadic updates here lately. I started going back to school on top of working, and my parents decided to visit me. I think my life is finally going to not be so hectic, until I move at the beginning of October. That being said, I am probably going to drop to just updating once a week for now. 
> 
> Thanks for reading and feedback you guys decide to give!

“Professor Potter?”

Harry smiled warmly at Ida and inclined his head to her. This was her seventh and final year, and she was his best student in Defense Against The Dark Arts which meant last year she was the student in charge of the DADA tutoring program. Harry worked very closely with each of the top students selected to lead the subject’s tutoring program as he had started the program his eighth year, because of Ida asking him for help her first year. She was also one of the Prefects for Gryffindor and Harry was slightly worried that she had a little too much on her plate. 

“Yes, Ida?”

“I can’t find Patricia Batson. She’s the fifth year Prefect for Gryffindor, and we were going to have her take the newly sorted first year Gryffindors to our common room tonight after the feast.”

“She didn’t show up to the Prefects’ carriage?”

“No, sir.”

“Damn. Well I’ll have a look on the other side of the train, and you keep looking here.”

Ida nodded, and Harry took off to the other side of the train. If he was being honest, he had not agreed with Severus about appointing Patricia Batson as a Prefect. She was brilliant and determined, but a bit flaky. Harry was not at all surprised that she had not showed up. 

He found her in a cabin with her typical following; Harry did not understand why these bright children followed her around and looked up to her like she personally hung the moon and stars. Harry would also never understand why Batson seemed to enjoy her fellow classmates looking up to her. 

“Ms. Batson. A word, if you wouldn’t mind?”

The child had the audacity to roll her eyes at him, and Harry very nearly took points from Gryffindor which would make the house start the year off in the red. He might still do it if she continued to have an attitude with him. 

“Yes?” 

The word was full of attitude, and Harry knew he was going to take points before the end of this conversation. 

Merlin, he was as bad as Severus was when he was in school. 

“In private, Ms. Batson.”

She stood up and walked out of the compartment. He closed the doors behind her with a flick of his wand and used the second that gave him to bury his anger. 

“I believe that instructions to go to the Prefects’ Carriage today were included with your badge.”

“Yeah, but I didn’t want to do that. So I didn’t.”

“It was your responsibility to go to the Prefects’ Carriage. You need to go find Ida Rogers to learn your assignments for the day as well as your patrolling schedule.”

“Or you could just tell me, and I’ll stay here with my friends.”

“That’s not how this works, Ms. Batson. You have additional responsibilities now, and you need to follow through with the commitments added to your schedule from those responsibilities.”

“Or I could just learn what I need to do at the Welcome Feast.”

She started to turn around, and leave. 

“5 points from Gryffindor for your attitude, Ms. Batson. I’m not requesting for you to go find Ms. Rogers, I am telling you.”

Patricia’s face turned nearly purple, and Harry was sure she was about to lose Gryffindor more points. 

“It’s not fair for you to take points before the start of term!”

“I would really like to know how it isn’t fair. It seemed perfectly fair to me. Ms. Batson, is it?”

Harry and Patricia turned towards James Waller, “And you are?”

Merlin, did Hermione sound that snooty when she asked the same question their first year? Suddenly it clicked for Harry, Patricia had a mixture of Ron and Hermione’s attitudes, but dialed up to eleven. Damn, if their future children acted like Patricia he might not accept the role of Godfather.

“I’m the temporary Transfiguration Professor, Professor Waller. I would watch the attitude, or I’ll take points as well. You’re in Gryffindor, correct?”

Patricia sneered at him, and seemed like she was about to talk back again. Harry wondered if he was this hot-headed as a student. Harry thought back to a few of his interactions with Severus as a student; yes, he was as hot-headed as Patricia. 

“ _Well, Snape was much nastier to me than I am to Batson,_ ” Harry thought. 

“ _Focus!_ ” Harry thought to himself. 

“It would not be a good idea, Ms. Batson, to talk back again. Go find Ms. Rogers, right now. She should be that way.”

She sniffed and walked off in the direction that Harry pointed. 

“Is she always like that?”

Harry looked over to James and shrugged.

“Not to professors that she thinks can help her with her future ambitions. She does not see herself continuing with DADA after the O.W.L.S., so she does not particularly like me.”

“So she’s a Slytherin, then?”

“No, she’s a Gryffindor. Her daring outweighs her ambition, and she’s not very cunning honestly, a bit too much of a hot-head. She also does not have much patience to maneuver people and situations so that they benefit her.” 

“What are her future plans?”

Harry had often wondered why she had not tried to get in his good graces with her future plans to be in the Ministry of Magic. He had quite a bit of influence still after the whole defeating Voldemort thing. Maybe she didn’t want to gain her connections in such an obvious way. It was refreshing, honestly, as most of the students tried their best to get in his good graces just because of his pull with the Ministry. If she didn’t have such a bad attitude, Harry thought he would quite enjoy having her as a student.

“To eventually be the Head of the Department of International Magical Cooperation. Once she learns that you are from the States, she’ll probably try to become your favourite student.”

James’ raised his eyebrow then laughed, “Not bloody likely.”

Harry chuckled with him, slightly uncomfortable as this was his second time alone face-to-face with his father. Harry was about to make an excuse to leave, but James beat him to talking. 

“I’m with my kids in a compartment that way, if you want to join us?”

More than anything.

“Oh, thanks mate, but I have to go talk to a few students about the tutoring program. I head it, you see, so I need to get on it before I let it fall to the side. I’m afraid of things falling through the cracks with everything I’m doing this year,” Harry chuckled as he finished his, unnecessary, explanation.

“Ah. Well, I’ll see you at the Feast, then.”

“Yes, see you then.”

Harry turned around and remembered he had a message for the Wallers, “Oh, before I forget again, Draco might have made a bit of headway concerning the charms. He wants to call a meeting within the week.”

“Brilliant! I hate this bloody disguise.”

James and Lily had recently glamoured their features so they wouldn’t be recognizable until their memories came back. Harry, on the other hand, had taken off most of his glamour last week in front of James and Lily; he had left his eyes a few shades darker than Lily’s, though. Lily had noticed right away that Harry looked very similar to her husband, and the cover story he came up with was that he was a distant cousin to James. James was delighted to have family, so twice now he had tried to convince Harry to hang around so they could get to know each other better. 

It broke his heart to say no, but the small break now would be much better than the complete break that would happen if it was too dangerous for James and Lily to ever remember him. 

“We’ll set up a time, then.”

James nodded and Harry walked away quickly. He found Filius and started trying to figure out a time for the next charms-breaking meeting. He distracted himself with various things throughout the rest of the journey until he needed to greet the huge group of nervous first years, and the Waller’s, at the castle’s doors. He tried his best to emulate Minerva, but he thought that he fell slightly below her level of excellence. 

He left the group to go back into the Great Hall until Severus gave him the signal to bring them in. He set the Sorting Hat on the stool and watched as it opened its mouth.

>   
> It’s been a year now  
> Since I last sat  
> On this old stool  
> Saved for this ancient hat
> 
> I look inside your minds  
> To see where you should go  
> Well at least which House will be yours  
> Out of the four houses you already know
> 
> Will it be Hufflepuff or Gryffindor  
> Or Raven or Slytherin  
> That’s up to me to decide  
> Using the stuff sitting above your chin
> 
> No matter where you land  
> We are all together in this place  
> And we should all stick together  
> As secrets emerge that were nearly erased
> 
> Now it’s time to move along  
> So we can eventually eat  
> Bring up the first student of the year  
> That I’m going to meet

Harry clapped with the rest of the school, but secretly wondered when the hat would start to repeat its songs. They were slightly declining in quality. Then he wondered if the secret mentioned was about his parents. He decided that was probably it as he put the hat on the head of the first student of the year. 

After they went through the normal first years, the three Wallers were left. They were going to be temporarily placed for the year, and would have the normal Hogwarts experience. Harry wondered where they would go. 

“Waller, Alice,” he called, and the seventh year stepped forward. 

It took just a minute for the hat to shout, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

“Waller, Sirius,” he called as Alice moved to the Gryffindor table.

Harry watched the fourth year chuckle over the conversation he was having with the hat, and the hat shouted, “GRYFFINDOR!” 

Sirius beamed, and Harry hoped the kid did not behave like a mixture of Sirius Black and James Potter. He had heard horror stories from Minerva, Pomona, and Filius about the Marauders.

“Waller, Minerva,” he called, wondering if all of his siblings would be placed in Gryffindor.

Harry was startled the first year's turn to be sorted stretched past the sixth minute; it had to be the longest sorting he had ever seen. Harry looked up at Severus wondering if he should step in, but the hat suddenly shouted it’s decision. 

“HUFFLEPUFF!”

Harry was stunned, but quickly began clapping. He did not miss Sirius’s sneer directed at Minerva, nor Alice’s slap to the back of Sirius’s head. He wondered what problems his siblings had with each other. James beamed at his youngest child’s sorting, though, so Harry guessed that was what mattered.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm just going to say, that I am not at all happy with my sorting hat's song. I'm not great at that kind of thing, to be honest.


End file.
